Safeguarding Children

Welcome to the child welfare section of the Swim Ireland website. Our aim here is to help, you, our members make aquatic activities safe for young people whilst encouraging these young members to reach their potential in their chosen sport. One of the attractions of swimming is that it is a sport that everyone, young and old, can take part in for fun; you can also improve your skills or even compete at different levels in our competitive structure. Water polo, synchronised swimming and diving offer opportunities for young people to develop their skills in different aquatic areas once they have mastered that initial skill of learning to swim! You just need to join a club that suits you and whatever level you wish to participate.

Protecting our young members is the first priority for Swim Ireland – and to achieve this we have appropriate policies and procedures to guide parents, clubs and other adults involved in our aquatic activities in setting up and maintaining the right environment to allow young people to flourish.

It is also important that our young members know what to expect from their club or activity. One of the basic policies for all members is the Code of Conduct. This is required in every club and for everyone involved in our activities; whatever your position there is a relevant Code of Conduct that applies to you.

All Swim Ireland Clubs appoint a Club Children’s Officer and a Designated Person. These roles are predominantly involved in creating and maintaining a child-centred environment for young people, with the Club Children’s Officer being a face that young people recognise and know will listen to their views. The roles of the Club Children’s Officer and Designated Person are detailed in the Roles and Responsibilities for members in the Swim Ireland Safeguarding Children Policies and Procedures publication.

The Swim Ireland Safeguarding Children Policies and Procedures document also contains references to all the policies and procedures Swim Ireland have in place for Clubs and members to ensure the safety of children and young people whilst taking part in aquatic activities. Take a minute to browse through the contents and you will find all the areas of a club activities are covered, from supervision of training sessions, taking photographs to what to do if I have a concern about a child or young person. See the policy download section for each detailed document.

For further help or advice contact your Club Children’s Officer – their contact details will be posted on your Club noticeboard – or the National Children’s Officer at children@swimireland.ie

Your region has a Child Welfare Committee (CWC) representative – appointed by your regional committee. The CWC rep works with the NCO to make sure Swim Ireland Clubs are providing the best possible environment for young people. The reps are: